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5 DIY Ecommerce Product Photography Tips

When you run an e-commerce store, product photography becomes an integral part of your operations. If you sell a lot of products, not only will you be taking a lot of photographs, but you will also be relying on your photographs to sell your wares. Basically, if your product photography isn’t good, it may actually hurt sales. This is exactly why it is so important to take great photographs. Not only should the photos stand out based on first impressions, but they should also be detailed and give a good sense of what your product is or does. Here are five DIY e-commerce product photography tips.

Lighting is everything. Properly lighting your products is possibly the most important aspect of good product photography. You want your product to be lit from all angles – there shouldn’t be any surface that is dark. Light is also important for detail, so having the right balance between soft, hard, and diffused light is incredibly vital.

Have a neutral background. It is also important to have a neutral background, especially if you are selling a single product. If you look at the portfolio of The Image Alive, you will notice that all the products have a nice clean white background. This is imperative for the sake of post-production – you don’t want to spend hours cropping and erasing grey areas. This is why you want to place your product in an area with an all white or all black background, although white is preferable. You could go for a textured background, like wood or metal, but it has to flow with the product.

Use a camera that packs a pixel punch. On top of making sure your background is clean and neutral – and that you have plenty of light – you want to make sure to use a camera that has a lot of pixels. Traditionally, a camera with about twenty megapixels will do the trick, but you can also rent cameras with megapixels that go all the way to 40, which will give you super-detailed shots. When it comes down to it, the more mega-pixels you are shooting with, the more stunning your product shots will be.

Remove obstructions that could cause unnecessary reflections. It is also imperative to remove any major obstructions that could reflect in the product. This can be distracting and it can take away from the image. Ideally, you want to place your product in a large light box, which is like a mini-studio for your products. This will ensure the elimination of any reflections that could wind up in your shots.

Be careful of flash burnout. On top of everything, you want to be aware of flash burnout. Flash burnout occurs when your light is too hot – it can actually make your products look like they are disappearing into the photos. In order to prevent flash burnout, you want to test your lights. Ideally, you want to make sure the flash is at the perfect setting. In the end, you’ll know when you’ve hit the sweet spot.